At the beginning of this week, we completed the final preparations of this issue and scheduled to publish. But on Monday morning (February 6th), we awoke to a great disaster. Turkey was shaken by two major earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, which occurred one after the other. These earthquakes, which were felt in a very wide area, caused great destruction and loss of life, especially in Turkey and Syria. While we were writing these lines, the loss of life in Turkey and Syria had approached ten thousand.
Experts estimate these earthquakes as the most destructive earthquakes of our century. Currently, thousands of people are still trapped under the rubble. However, the spread of the disaster over a wide area (10 provinces in Turkey) and its devastating impact caused great damage to the transportation and communication infrastructure. Furthermore, severe winter conditions make rescue efforts extremely difficult.
On the other hand, many countries around the world with one heart are making great efforts to support people in the earthquake zone in different ways. This is a very humane and morale boosting situation for the victims living in the earthquake-hit areas.
Unfortunately, we were able to complete this issue of our magazine with a delay under the feeling of this disaster’s sadness. We hope that we have been able to prepare a useful issue for you once again.
Hope to see you in the next issue…
